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Full catalog/GPM_2AKaENV
GPM_2AKaENV·v07·dataset

Weather conditions around rainfall, Ka radar (GPM)

GPM DPR Ka Environment L2A 1.5 hours 5 km V07 (GPM_2AKaENV) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. Profiles of the atmospheric conditions (the surrounding environment) assumed during GPM's rainfall retrieval, paired with the satellite's Ka-band radar scans.

How it's made. Produced alongside the Ka-band radar retrieval on the GPM core satellite, capturing the environmental parameters used in that single-frequency rain estimate.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes companion to GPM rainfall products, mainly useful to researchers digging into how the precipitation estimates were derived rather than for direct general use.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-03-08 → ongoing
  • Measured byGPM (DPR)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -70, 180, 70
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

Version 07 is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07. . This is environmental data that includes the profiles of atmospheric parameters assumed in the L2 retrieval algorithm. The 2AKa algorithm provides precipitation estimates from the Ka radar of the Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar on the core GPM spacecraft. The product contains two swaths of data corresponding to the scans of the Ka radar. The first swath contains matched scans (MS), which are intended to be co-aligned with the Ku-band instantaneous fields of view (IFOV). The second swath contains the high-sensitivity scans (HS), which are interleaved between the Ku/Ka-MS swaths. Both swaths are narrow and centered within the interior of the Ku swath. This is a single-frequency retrieval of precipitation; no information from the Ku radar is used. The retrievals are performed at each radar range bin along the slant path of the radar IFOV for each swath. This is a single-frequency retrieval that relies on Ka-band data only. While the 2ADPR dual-frequency retrieval should give better overall estimates, that algorithm requires co-aligned Ku-band data. This 2AKa product will be produced independently and would not be impacted by any operational issues with the Ku-band radar. The high sensitivity to smaller hydrometeors should result in precipitation estimates in lighter precipitation than the Ku-only data.

Get the data

gpm_2akaenv_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPM_2AKaENV",
    version="07",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.